Iceland

Vox Restaurant | Hilton Reykjavík Nordica, 108, Suðurlandsbraut 2, 105 Reykjavík, IcelandWhile Bourdain didn’t really eat in the restaurant, but rather had the chef pack him a lunch for an ill-fated picnic, Tony ended up with smoked puffin, lamb & barley, blini with caviar & pickles, among other things. The restaurant is still there to swing in and try their food. (NR1.2, 2005)

Thorrablot Festival Thorrablog is a midwinter festival in Iceland, but most are invite-only. Some restaurants will have specials during that time so you can taste the food if you haven’t been invited, though. It’s a celebration of some sketchy food, including hakarl (fermented shark), sheep testicles, head cheese, sheep’s head, blood sausage, smoked lamb, and others. Bourdain famously described hakarl as “the single worst, most disgusting, and terrible tasting thing” he had ever eaten. (NR1.2, 2005)

3 Frakkar | 14 Baldursgata, 101 Reykjavík, IcelandTranslated as the Three Frenchmen or the Three Overcoats, Tony stopped by for some Icelandic history and fish stew. But, lo and behold, they also had some hakarl on hand. He also had plenty more Brennivin, or “Black Death,” a local liquor he drank throughout the show. (NR1.2, 2005)